Vertical Limit

James Newton Howard

 
" Vertical limit, horizontal fun, equal boost! "

Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release

Composer James Newton Howard is on a role. With his much praised scores for Dinosaur and Unbreakable, it was clear that he was at the top of his game, on the top of the world. But he also took that literally when he wrote the music for Vertical Limit, the newest suspension movie of director Martin Campbell (The Mask of Zorro). This unbelievable roller coaster ride of stunts and its ongoing spectacular scenery never stopped to amaze me, and Howard delivered a suspenseful and at times exhilarating adventure score for it, full with tension, amazement and adrenaline.

Packed in 44 minutes of music (but missing the end credits and the final action music at the end), Vertical Limit offers a cool main theme and several particular highlights. The main theme is used frequently during the begin and end, making sure that the tracks "Three Years Later", "Base Camp" and "You Wanna Do This?" offer spectacular moments of music. The heroic taste in "Base Camp" is awesome while the beautiful vistas of "You Wanna Do This" deliver some spectacular moments of breathtaking music.

The rest combines suspenseful action music embedded on a serious pace, witnessed in "Spindrift", the rollercoaster ride "Avalanche", the suspenseful "Nitro" and the somewhat unsatisfying "Peter's Jump / Tom's Heart". But there's also calm underscore mixed in between, like the lovely "Your Father was a Smart Man", "Don't Touch Her" or the eerie uncomfortable "Annie and Peter". This is no complaint to Howard itself, because he simply scored what the movie offered him. But it is definitely the case that the second part doesn't reach the height of the first. Perhaps an end credits suite or various moments of extra score could have enlightened the experience.

The final result still remains positive, this due to the fact James Newton Howard still delivers us a couple of whoppers in the outcome. That excellent main theme and that glorious fanfare are reasons why Vertical Limit is recommendable. The second part, offering a tad too much effective action scoring keeps it from reaching the stars. So Vertical Limit ends a remarkable and successful year for Hollywood composer James Newton Howard, with an at times exhilarating soundtrack.

Tracklisting

1. Utah (1.25)
2. Three Years Later (4.28) Excellent track
3. I Need one More (1.42)
4. Base Camp (1.32) Excellent track
5. You Wanna Do This (4.38) Excellent track
6. Spindrift (3.22)
7. Avalanche (1.24)
8. Your Father was a Smart Man (2.12)
9. Don't Touch Her (2.46)
10. Maybe you Should Turn Back (1.55)
11. Nitro (4.17)
12. Vaughn Decides (1.17)
13. Annie and Peter (4.16)
14. Peter's Jump / Tom's Heart (6.00)
15. It's a Good Song (3.10)

Total Length: 44.35
(click to rate this score)  
 
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(total of 13 votes - average 3.58/5)

Released by

Varèse Sarabande VSD 302-066-207-2 (regular release 2000)

Conducted by

Pete Anthony

Orchestrations by

Brad Dechter, Jeff Atmajian, Pete Anthony & James Newton Howard